Strs Ohio Has $704,000 Stock Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Strs Ohio cut its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSMT. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in PriceSmart by 114.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 492,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,692,000 after purchasing an additional 263,016 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in PriceSmart by 4.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,177,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,489,000 after purchasing an additional 133,814 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in PriceSmart in the third quarter worth about $7,951,000. RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in PriceSmart in the third quarter worth about $4,778,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in PriceSmart by 905.6% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 40,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 36,596 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $74,828.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other PriceSmart news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $74,828.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT opened at $80.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.98. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.82 and a 52-week high of $86.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 0.92.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. PriceSmart’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company provides basic and private label consumer products under the Member's Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry.